A Stand Against Time
by Pixilated Pixie Princess
Summary: Brotherly Lyon and Gray Story: A year after the disappearance of Tenrou Island and the supposed death of Gray, Lyon still hasn't given up. As his actions before more and more desperate he ends up traveling back in time and bringing a much younger Gray home with him to the present. Only later will he find out the heartbreaking consequences of messing with the time of living things.
1. prologue

Summary: Brotherly Lyon and Gray Story: A year after the disappearance of Tenrou Island and the supposed death of Gray, Lyon still hasn't given up. As his actions before more and more desperate he ends up traveling back in time and bringing a much younger Gray home with him to the present. Only later will he find out the heartbreaking consequences of messing with the time living things.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail

Warnings: Violence, possible character death, nothing too intense.

Estimated Length: Ten or so chapters around 2,000 to 4,000 words each; not counting the prologue.

* * *

A Stand Against Time

prologue

The woman hummed a cheerful tune to herself as she stirred the cooking pot. A child played with a wooden train at her feet. Every now and then he'd look up to wonder at the actions of his mother. She was picking through her cupboards now and picking out the perfect seasonings for their dinner.

There was a rattling at the front door and a man's voice rang through the small home.

"Mika, Gray, I'm home."

The woman smiled and called back.

"We're in the kitchen dear. Dinner's almost ready."

"It smells wonderful, I'll be there in a minute."

The child's curiosity was now diverted and he began crawling towards where he heard his father's voice. He didn't get very far before the man entered. He smiled down at the boy before picking him up and tossing him above his head.

"Careful!" the woman warned, wincing with worry as the man caught him.

He laughed then went over and gave her a kiss. He then set the table with one arm while the other held their child. Just as he was done the woman set the soup down and they began their meal. They talked about each others day and any small thing of note that happened around the village. She had just finished her bowl when the child ended up spilling the rest of his all over himself. She picked him up and went to clean him off.

After the boy and the kitchen were clean again they changed into their nightwear and climbed into bed. The man held the boy while the woman picked up the light novel they had been reading together and started on the next chapter.

It ended on such a compelling cliffhanger that the man wanted to continue on to the next one, but the woman insisted that she was too tired. They skipped ahead a few pages just to make sure that everything turned out all right before pulling the covers up and falling asleep with their only child placed protectively between them.

An hour passed.

Then the front door creaked open and a tall hooded figure entered the home. He brushed passed the other rooms and came straight to where the small family slept. Silently he stepped up to the bed and reached over the woman and scooped the child up into his arms. He held the boy close to his chest and backed away.

The man let out a muffled grunt and turned over in his sleep. The figure flinched back in fear, but neither he nor his wife awoke. The intruder let out a relieved sigh before looking down at the child in his arms. He stared at the sleeping boy's face for a long moment before glancing back to the sleeping couple.

"I swear I won't let anything bad happen to him." He whispered.

Then he turned away and vanished with the child, leaving only a swirl of dust behind.


	2. I Need to Find Him

Chapter 1: I Need to Find Him

* * *

"What do you mean we're giving up!"

The Lamia Scale guild members looked up from their conversations. There in the middle of the hall was a sight not many of them had yet seen. Their resident ice mage who was normally so stoic and composed was was now openly livid right in front of them and yelling out his frustrations on none other than the guild master herself.

"We don't have the resources to keep helping out the Fairy Tail guild." the master shot back. Her own irritation was quickly growing but had yet to match the young man's display of emotions.

"So you'll just abandon them? What will people say about our guild when they find out we've abandoned one of our allies in their time of need?"

"The allied forces doesn't exist anymore, Lyon." The old woman let her voice grow softer as she spoke, "If you want to help Fairy Tail so much then put your nose to the grind stone and get back to work. Once we've replenished all the savings we've spent then maybe we can send out another search expedition."

"What do you mean maybe? You say that but all I hear is you admitting defeat. You may have given up old woman but I have not!"

With that declaration Lyon stormed out of the guild, everyone watching him as he went. As the doors slammed behind him everyone breathed a collective sigh as the tension in the hall dissolved.

The wizard saint Jura Neekis had been watching the whole exchange with growing concern. As soon as Lyon was gone he stepped forward and addressed the guild master.

"Please be patient with him." he said, giving the woman a pleading look, "You do understand why he's so upset don't you?"

Ooba nodded, "It's because of Fairy Tail's ice mage. I'm not sure exactly what kind of relationship they had but it seems he cared more about him than I first thought." she sighed and shook her head at the guild doors, "Talk to him for me Jura, I can tell you looks up to you. Maybe you can get him so see reason."

"I will do my best," he said with a slight dip of the head and moved to follow the ice mage.

"Jura wait!"

He looked to his left to see Sherry standing there, her hands clasped together and looking at him with pleading eyes.

"Be sure to tell him that I, Toby, and Yuka are there for him if he needs us. He's so stubborn, and can sometimes be too prideful to ask for help."

He nodded. "I was already planning on doing that."

* * *

"Ignorant old hag!" Lyon cursed as he trudged down the street.

He was sick of her, sick of his guild. With every new search attempt, the launched more and more members voiced their complaints and said it was a lost cause.

"I guess I'm the only one left who has any sense. It's up to me now!"

"What's up to you?"

Lyon stopped as he heard the familiar voice and turned around.

"Don't tell me you planning on searching on your own?" Jura scolded.

The ice mage narrowed his eyes, "Are you going to stop me?"

"I will if I have to." he replied, his expression sagging as he looked at the younger man, "Lamia Scale needs a break from this search and you do too. It's starting to affect you for the worst."

Lyon stared at him for a moment before he decided that he didn't want to hear any more of this and began walking away. Jura didn't miss a beat and was soon walking with him step for step.

"Can you tell me why finding the members of Fairy Tail is so important to you?" He asked.

"What? The fact that people have gone missing isn' enough? Unlike the rest of you cowards, I don't give up so easily." Lyon spat with every ounce of anger he was feeling in that moment.

"That's all?" Jura probed hesitantly.

"Why would I need more reason than that?" Lyon growled in frustration and tried to break into a run so he could get away from this frustrating conversation, but Jura predicted his action and grabbed him firmly by the arm and yanked him back.

"Let go."

"Lyon," the wizard saint softened his voice, "I'm sorry that Gray is gone."

Lyon's eye's widened and he opened his mouth in bafflement before closing it. He then immediately went on the defense and glared accusingly at his guild mate, "What are you talking about? Why should I care anymore about that idiot than the rest of the missing mages?"

Jura stared at him in disappointment, "Lyon, you're friends are there for you when you need them, the whole guild is. You know that right?"

"Of course, I do. But I don't need them now? I'm fine!" Lyon's voice was slowly rising as he spoke. "Now let me go!"

"I will, but promise me one thing first."

"What?"

"Go home tonight and get some rest then come to the guild tomorrow and get back to work."

"I'll do what I want."

Lyon pulled against the stronger man and Jura reluctantly let him go.

The wizard saint left out a deep sigh as he watched the ice mage walk away. 

* * *

Lyon stopped in front of the train station and looked at the schedule to see when the next train would be leaving for Magnolia. He skimmed down the list and saw that it wouldn't be until later that evening.

The train station was moderately busy. The smell of engine fuel filled the air and people were hurrying about, paying no attention to him as he tried to decide what to do next.

He glanced over at the people boarding the train and saw a woman with two children get one. One of the kids seemed to be on some kind of sugar high as he hopped up and down all the way, the other looked like he had just woken up from a nap. As he watched them, Lyon felt a tightening in his gut. He cringed at the feeling and turned away from the sight and back to the posted times.

He decided that it was pointless to travel that late. It would be dark by the time he got there and would have to start in the morning. Better to go home and catch the early train than spend money on a hotel.

He turned away and began walking towards his home.

The wind picked up as he walked and began blowing dust and discarded papers around. He watched the bits of trash getting tossed around in a light daze. What Jura had said to him came back to him and the unpleasant feeling inside of him came back.

' _I'm sorry that Gray is gone._ '

He shook his head, trying to get rid of it, but the unwanted words kept repeating inside his head.

 _'I'm sorry that Gray is gone.'_

 _'I'm sorry that Gray is gone.'_

 _'I'm sorry Gray is gone.'_

 _'sorry Gray is gone.'_

 _'Gray is gone.'_

 _'Gray is gone.'_

 _'Gray is gone.'_

"Gray isn't gone. he's missing and I have to find him!" Lyon screamed as something inside him snapped.

He broke into a run and sprinted the rest of the way home. When he arrived he slammed the door shut and went straight to his dining room table. He threw the stack of letters that were mostly unopened bills and whatever else was one there to the ground, then grabbed hold of the box that was sitting on a shelf next to it and emptied its contents onto the table top. Out toppled, news paper clippings, books, a whole stack of hand written notes, and various other writings; all the information Lyon had gather that had anything to do with the disappearance of Tenrou Island.

He grabbed a pen and piece of paper, pulled himself up a chair and began reading through all of it for about the hundredth time.

He dug through everything he had found, every bit of research he had come up with, skimming through all of it like a maniac and writing down any idea he could come up with on how to get the Fairy Tail mages back, most were improbable, somewhere down right ludicrous. He didn't care for logic or reason right then, his only thought was that if he came up with enough he might stumble across the right one.

As the day dragged on his ideas got more and more desperate. He felt like he was on a collision course and something inside him told him that he should stop, that he wasn't thinking straight, but he couldn't stop, stopping would mean giving up, and he just couldn't do that.

When he had filled the paper with possible solutions he got up to get another one. When he sat back down again something in the stack of notes caught his eyes. He pulled it out and looked at it. It was a drawing he had found of the dragon that had attacked Tenrou Island. It probably wasn't accurate but it was the only one he could find. It was black, hideous, and evil. It was a monster. A black monster had taken his master away and now another one had taken Gray.

His hand trembled as he tightened it into a fist, crumbling the drawing. He felt the rage building up in him as he ground his teeth together. He suddenly stood to his feet, knocking his chair over. He piled the papers back into the box, throwing them in with no particular order.

He grabbed his coat as he left and shrugged it over his shoulders. The sun had set over an hour ago and the streets were now almost empty. He set off at a brisk pass, almost a run and passed seventeen different blocks before he made it out of the city and onto a dirt road.

It was then that he stopped, his breath coming in fast. He looked up at the night sky, there were a few stars out, but not many. He remembered being disappointed when he came to this town in the number of stars there were. On the mountain where he trained with Ur, you could see thousands of them on a clear enough night with no moon. Something about that memory pulled him back to reality and he glanced back down at the road he was on. It winded through farm land then into a forest, after that he wasn't sure where it led or why he was even on it. It didn't lead to Fairy Tail, it wouldn't take him to Gray. This might be the direction Acnologia was in, but he had no way of knowing.

With a sense of shame in his heart, he turned and hung his head towards home.

The light was still on when he returned. As soon as he closed the door a wave of fatigue washed over him. He shed his coat and kicked off his boots before heading straight to bed.

* * *

Morning came and with it a knock on the door. Lyon was slowly pulled from his sleep. He blinked open his eyes and groaned. His body felt so stiff he wasn't sure if he could move it. The knock came again, this time, more persistent. He forced himself up and stretched his limbs out before slugging over to the door. He opened it to find Yuka.

"Why are you waking me up so early?" he complained.

"It's almost noon; you're usually up by now," Yuka replied, raising one of his massive eyebrows.

"I had a long night." Lyon mutter in excuse.

"I see. Well, the master has a special job lined up for you. Jura asked me to come here and tell you just in case you weren't planning on showing up at the guild today."

"The man never quits does he?" Lyon sighed, "Fine, just give me a few minutes to get dressed."

He went back inside and began searching for something to wear. He searched his room and found that most of his garments were dirty, including his usual attire. He found a clean blue shirt and black pants. A little too plan for his taste, but wasn't going to wear something that smelled like sweat.

He grabbed his jacket as he left and headed towards Lamia Scale with a newfound sense of resolve. He needed to get his life back in order and save up some money. That would get his pesky guild members off his back and his personal problems out of the way. Once that was done he could finally be able to think clearly and perhaps come up with a lead on how to find the missing Fairy Tail members.

Since it was almost noon most of the guild members had already gone off on jobs and the hall was practically empty. Lyon found Ooba sitting at one of the tables, sipping tea and looking over several stacks of papers. He approached her.

"I heard you had a job for me."

She took another large gulp then reached over and took a paper off the top of one of the stacks and handed it to him.

"Some visionary wants a maker mage to help him with a project he's got going. Some kind of new magical device he's trying to create. It'll be a longer job. Probably a few months, but it pays well."

"That's fine." Lyon took to the job request from her and turned to leave.

"Don't screw this up unless you want to spin!" she cackles at him as he headed out the door.


	3. The Days Towards Discovery

Chapter 2: The Days Towards Discovery

* * *

The place Lyon was traveling to ended up being not very far from Magnolia. He couldn't help but think that if it wasn't for the disappearance of Tenrou Island, Gray would be the one taking this job. It was a bit of a trek outside of town to where the man did his research. Lyon had to walk through a dense forest path to get the large wooden structure. It looked to be an old barn.

Lyon cautiously walked inside. The door was wide open so he supposed that he didn't need to knock. Inside was nothing but a big room with a high ceiling. The place was strewn with tools, scrap metal, magic lacramas, and other objects that he couldn't begin to identify.

A small man with graying red hair was sitting near the back at a wooden desk. He was working on what appeared to be blueprints of something and muttering to himself.

"Hello!" Lyon greeted.

The man was startled so much by his greeting that he nearly fell off his chair. He whirled around and fixed his gaze on Lyon. The ice mage almost chuckles when he saw his face. He was covered in freckles and his skin was a slight shade of red. That, combined with his red hair and mustache gave him a resemblance to a tomato.

"Who's there?" the man asked accusingly.

"I'm Lyon Vasia, the ice make mage you requested from Lamia Scale."

"What? I thought you were getting here tomorrow."

Lyon shrugged. "I was told to come today, but if you're not ready for me I can come back."

"No, no no." the man sputtered as he hurried over to him. "I can use you now. Come on in and I'll show you what I need you to do."

"What was your name again?"

"Lyon Vastia."

"Lyon you say? My name is Tomas Corchof, but you can call me Tom."

He grabbed hold of Lyon's arm and pulled him over to his desk.

"This..." he waved his hand over the blueprint, "Is the sum total of my research so far."

Lyon stared down at the carefully measured lines.

"It just looks like five curved pulls sticking out of the ground." he commented, "What's it supposed to do."

"Time magic." the man uttered in triumph. "I've tried out earlier designs before, but with only a small amount of success. It's very expensive and time-consuming to build these structures, but I can't find out if they work without building them. That's why I ask you here."

"You want me to build this for you so you can test it out." Lyon finished for him.

"Precisely."

"But won't it matter that I can only make things out of ice?"

Tom shook his head, "No, you see structure is the only thing that counts in this equation."

He grabbed Lyon again by the arm and pulled him outside. They walked a few yards away where there was an open clearing.

"This is where we'll be setting up. There's large irregularity in magic here. I'm sure a skilled mage such as yourself can sense it."

Lyon stared at the grassy clearing then shut his eyes. A sudden chill went up his spine as he sensed a strange feeling of magic that was unfamiliar to him. He opened his eyes again and glanced over at Tom for an explanation.

"I have no idea where it came from, but when I discovered it I used all my resources to find out what it was. After almost two years I found it to be a huge pocket of unused time magic that was absorbed into the earth. Unfortunately, at that point, I ran out of my savings. But I was able to find a sponsor who was more than willing fund the rest of my research. Now I'm working to harness this magic's power and discover what it can be used for."

He grabbed Lyon by the arm again and pulled him back inside. He picked up the blueprints and handed to him again.

"Study this until you can make it with your magic. Make sure you get it down to the very last detail. Any mistake and throw off the whole design. You can work over there." Tom pointed to another desk behind a pile of scrap wood that Lyon hadn't noticed before.

Lyon nodded and did as he was told. The blueprints were easy enough to understand. The hard part would be memorizing every detail so he could keep it in his head while he cast the spell. He ran the numbers over and over again inside his head so he wouldn't forget and practiced by making smaller scale versions of the structure.

The work was tedious and a bit outside of his comfort zone. He didn't like this rigid design. He never had to deal much with this kind of thing using his style of ice make. His magic moved and flowed in a way that rendered a set structure and rules obsolete. Gary, on the other hand, would have probably loved this kind of work. He could remember complex measurements and structures at a glance and replicate an object perfectly right down to the last millimeter all without breaking his concentration in battle.

Lyon felt the now familiar twining in his gut again as he thought of his former fellow student. He stood to his feet, unable to concentrate anymore on the work in front of him.

"I'm going out for a short walk if that's all right with you." he told Tom as he passed by him.

"Take a break whenever you need to." the man muttered, too deep in concentration to look up.

Lyon stepped out into the woods and took in a deep breath of pine. He found a small tail and walked along it, wondering if it was animal or man-made. Birds chirp above his head and he occasionally could hear the soft rustling of bushes but was too distracted to be curious enough to find out what sort of creature was making the noise.

He eventually went back and finished studying Tom's design. By the time he felt confident enough to try it out it was getting dark. Tom said he was near a breakthrough and was going to stay late. Lyon went back to Magnolia and booked a cheap hotel. An hour after climbing into bed he fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning he got up early and he and Tom went out the clearing and tested out the man's design. After seven and a half minutes of deep concentration and spell casting, Lyon had constructed a perfect structure according to Tom's design. The man watched him intently throughout the entire proses, once the spell was finished he took a few steps back and motioned for the ice mage to do the same.

"What now?" Lyon questioned.

"The structure should start channeling the magic energy on its own. It may take a few moments for the process to start."

Lyon turned his attention back to the five the curved towers. Now that he could see then in real life they looked like the claws of a giant monster poking up out of the ground. They were about four times his height and took up most of the clearing.

After a moment he could start to feel the magic around then start to shift. It was moving towards the structures. Lyon quickly put his up towards his creation, in order to keep it stable as the magic began to swirl around it. He could feel the time magic running through the creation now, mingling with his own ice. Before Lyon could even think to adjust to the changss coming over his creation the ice shattered then disappeared into nothing. The time magic ceased its movement and slowly crept back to its original state.

"Ha ha!" Tom cried out in glee, stating the mage.

He clapped his hands wildly as if he had just seen the best play performance of his life.

"I didn't think it would work but it did. Splendid work Lyon."

"Wait?" Lyon blinked at the enthusiastic man, "You mean you wanted that to happen? Was it supposed to hijack my ice and make is shatter?"

"Well no, It should stay in place, but it did draw the time magic to it!" Tom explained, "You see? Didn't you feel it?"

"Yes."

"Good, now tell me everything."

Lyon explained as best he could what he sensed while Tom excitedly wrote everything down. After that he had Lyon make the structure again three more times so he could have a thorough examination of it and find out what corrections he needed to make. After that, he sent Lyon home and said that he would send word when he was finished with his new design.

* * *

Word came a week later. They went through the same process again. Tom seemed a bit less pleased with the outcome if this design and said that his guess was wrong on a few calculations and would need more time.

The third time around things went better and Tom jumping up and down like a giddy school boy after their attempt. He said that they were very close.  
The fourth time Lyon came over, Tom was a sobbing mess. He kept calling himself a failure and saying that there was no way that it was ever going to work. Lyon tried out his new design and it showed barely any improvement from the last one. Tom's face was about three shades redder by the end of the day.  
When Tom sent for him again his spirits were back up and he was going on and on about how he'd finally had a breakthrough and the pieces were finally starting to come together.

As the weeks turned into months, Lyon got used to his employer's moods swings. It was a little annoying, but with how much he was getting paid he really couldn't complain.

They were getting close. Tom kept saying this and Lyon was now starting to believe it. The design had now formed into a more complicated version of the same thing. Each claw now had three jointed angles and each was a different measurement. Lyon was beginning to understand how it worked and could tell that it was nearing perfection.

Then came the day when Tom's supporter came by for a visit.

Lyon was in inside working on memorizing Tom's newest design. When a man came strolling in.

"Tom?" he called as he stepped over the dust bunnies that were building up a congregation on the floor.

Lyon looked over to see that the red headed man was too deep in his concentration to hear anything. He got up from is desk and went and tapped hin on the shoulder.

"Huh?" Tom looked up and gave him a quizzical look.

"You have a visitor." Lyon pointed to the man coming towards him.

His skin was pale and beginning to wrinkle around his long gangly limbs. He wore a wide-brimmed hat and was dressed in a brown suit that looked he had owned it for years. His skin sagged off of his face and looked like it was only being held in place by his overgrown eyebrows.  
"Oh, Anderson, I didn't know you were coming!" Tom exclaimed as he recognized the man.

He stood to his feet and rushed over to greet him. Lyons stood off to the side, watching them both curiously. There was something about Anderson's mood that seemed a bit too off-putting for his liking.

Anderson looked around the messy work area with an air of deep judgment.

"No need to get yourself worked up my dear Tom. I'm just here for a short visit to see how your progress is going. I'm very anxious to see how this all turns out."

"Yes, of course, that's what I assumed."

Tom grabbed hold of the man's arm and led him over to Lyon's desk to show him his newest design. Anderson glanced at it but didn't really seemed to take any of it. Beside him, Tom began rambling in using a barrage of technical turns mixed in with his own bargain. Lyon could barely manage to make out any of it.  
Anderson put up his hand.

"Enough Tom," he said with a hint of impatience, "I would just like to know how much progress you've made and how much longer do you think it will take."

"Oh not long now," Tom replied with confidence. "After I hired that maker mage like you suggested things have been going much more quickly."

"Right." Anderson turned his head to face Lyon and acknowledged him for the first time since coming in. he gave the ice mage a small nod then turned back to Tom. "So it will be finished soon then?"

"I'm about sixty-seven percent sure of it."

"Send me word as soon as it's done. I'm very eager to see what you find." Anderson said with about a much enthusiasm as a brick wall.

He then turned away and left without so much as a wave goodbye. A soon as he was out the door Tom let out a sigh of relief.

"You all right?" Lyon asked.

"Yeah I'm fine. I just can't seem to be able to relax with that man around."

Lyon looked over at the door where Anderson had left, "Yeah, I can see how he would make people uneasy."

"Yes well, I can't complain. He's funded pretty much my whole project since I found him and hasn't given me any trouble. And he has some good advice on how I can run things more efficiently."

"Who is he exactly?" Lyon asked, now suddenly curious about the man.

"That I don't know. He never talks about his personal life so I never ask."

"Do you know why he was so willing to fund your research?"

Tom shrugged, "I supposed he's a man of discovery like myself. When I found this spot I was so intrigued by the mystery of it I could hardly sleep until I began working on uncovering. He must be just as eager as me to find out what power can be found here."

"He didn't seem that eager," Lyon muttered.

They went back to work and like Tom predicted they soon found success. After three more revisions a new power was unleashed.


	4. A Hasty Decision

Chapter 3: A Hasty Decision

"It works! It works!" Tom bellowed joyously.

He grabbed Lyon by the arm and pulled him into a hug. Lyon was still to captivated by the display of power before him that he didn't even notice the man's antics. He continued to stare in fascination as the magic surfaced from the earth, coiled around his ice, then came together in a swirling mess so thick it almost blended into blackness.

"Now to test it out!" Tom practically squealed as he stepped towards the concentrated time magic.

Lyon snapped out of his daze just in time to grab the eccentric man before he could get too close.

"Let go of me. I must know!" Tom snapped at him as Lyon forcefully pulled him a safe distance away.

"Do you have any idea what's going to happen if you touch that thing?" Lyon demanded.

"No, that's why I need to experience it." Tom insisted.

"And what if it ends up killing you?"

Tom froze for a moment. He stared at the swirling darkness for a moment before his enthusiasm seemed to sink back down.

"Quite right you are." he said, now turning on an air of seriousness.

He then began examining the thing from all different angles, taking notes and poking at it with long objects. Once he was done Lyon ended the spell and the time magic sunk back down into the earth. Tom then dismissed him for the day so he could concentrate on researching what he'd discovered.

Over the next few days Lyon's job became more time-consuming. When he wasn't remaking the structure over and over again for Tom he was running errands for him. The man would ask for books and various magical items Lyon had never even heard of. After the seventh day, Tom sent him after the largest empty lacrima he could find so he could try and store the time magic inside of it.

By the time he got back his arms were aching from carrying the heavy thing the whole way. Once he finally got back he set the lacrama down on the workshops floor and sighed with relief.

He straightened and looked up to see that, unsurprisingly Tom was hunched over his desk. What was surprising was that Anderson had returned and as leaning on the desk, observing the man as he worked.

"I'll admit that I had my doubts about you Tom, but once the ice mage gets back we can finally put this into action and it will make all my investment into your project worth it." The old man said, his lips turning upwards into a lopsided grin.

Lyon raised an eyebrow as he heard this and stepped forward. As he got closer he could see that Tom's hands were shaking slightly; his nerves clearly rattled with the old man being so close.

"I'm back!" Lyon announced as he walked the rest of the way over to them. "I got you that lacrima you wanted."

Tom turned around, his eyes brightening.

"Oh Lyon thank goodness your back." he said, showing a little too much relief.

"The lacrima won't be necessary, Ice mage," Anderson said, his smile faded and his mood returned to his usual expression of a perpetual frown.

"Call me Lyon." he corrected, not liking the way the old man said the words 'ice mage'.

Anderson picked the blue prints that Tom and been working on and handed them to him. Lyon glanced over them and noted that several changes had been made.

"Anderson went over all the research I've done and thinks he's figured out how to unleash the full power of the time magic." Tom smiled at him but his voice held none of the excitement that Lyon was used to.

"What do you mean full power?"

"It's very simple." Anderson answered in a dry tone, "With this new design you'll be able to travel back in time."

"Me?" Lyon took a step back at this new revelation. "Why me?"

"Because it's you're magic that being used to make the structure," Tom explained.

Lyon shook his head. "But that wasn't how it worked before."

"Well yes, but you see with these new changes the magic pull is going to be intensified and once it reaches its peak..."

Tom the launched into a lengthy and very detailed explanation that Lyon was only partially able to follow. From what he could understand he gathered that with the new design the magical build up was going to reach is maximum, collecting all the time magic that had been gathered in the ground. When that happened it would create a hole in time. The hole would only exist for a few seconds before the structure would break and again be filled. The magic would use the closest thing to it and since he was the one building the structure it would latch onto his magic and thusly pulling him through time to fill the hole.

"But I don't want to be stuck in the past," Lyon protested, "I've got things I need to do here, in the present." _like finding Gray_. He couldn't help the thought that popped into his head. He pushed it down, right now he needed to worry about his own well being.

He glanced back, eyeing the door in case he need to make his escape if Tom or Anderson ended up being crazier than he first thought them to be.

"You'll only be in the past for a few hours at the most," Anderson said in what Lyon suspected was supposed to be a consoling tone but it just came out as slightly less of a drone. "The spell will use up whatever's left of your magic then bring you back here into the present. You'll only be gone for as long as you spend in the past."

"No!" Lyon shook his head fiercely. "You should know draining all of his magic could kill a mage."

"It won't drain you completely." Tom reassured him, "As long as you don't try to resist the spells pull you'll still come back with a little bit left, it'll just be mostly drained."

Lyon stared at him intently, trying to decipher if the man was telling him the truth. "If you're so sure that that is what's going to happen then what's the point of me even doing it."

"I have an investment I hope to get some kind of return on." Anderson interrupted. "What I need from this is something from the past. It can be anything but I do need it." His gaze shifted from Lyon to Tom, his eyes trained directly on him.

"Lyon can I speak with you outside." Tom almost squeaked.

Lyon nodded and let himself be let out into the open air. He was shocked when Tom grasped both his hands and fell to his knees.

"Please do this for me." he pleaded, "I know it's not part of our agreement but I'll see that your well-compensated. and I won't lie, there is some risk but it's very small. I'm sure such an experienced and powerful mage such as yourself can pull through just fine. And you'll be aiding in a historic discovery."

Lyon's eyes widened at such a pathetic display. "I'm not so desperate for money that I'll put my own life at risk. And time magic doesn't interest me as much as it does you."

"But if I don't get Anderson what he want's there's no telling what he'll do to me."

Lyon did feel pity for the man. He had grown to like him over the past several weeks. He heaved a sigh. If it was just himself he'd probably walk away right now, but he was part of a guild, and he'd be damned if he'd damage Lamia Scales reputation.

"All right." He agreed.

Tom sighed with relief and almost hugged him but Lyon pushed him away.

"Do you have everything figured out or do you want me to come back tomorrow."

"That won't be necessary," Anderson said as he stepped out of the workshop, carrying the blueprints.

He handed them to Lyon.

"Once you have these memorized we can begin."

Lyon nodded. "And where in time is this thing going to take me?"

"Wherever you would like," he said. "Although I am unsure of how accurate you'll be able to get it. Just bring me back something from the past. it doesn't matter what. Just make sure it's not too big. I'd like to be able to carry it."

Lyon felt his heart skip a beat at that. Anytime? he minds started to race at the possibilities. Could he also change the past? If so he could go back and save Ur, or go back and talk his younger self out of trying to foolishly resurrected Deliora. Or could he go back a year and save Gray and the rest of the Fairy Tail members?

A light chuckle pulled him out of his musings.

"I know what you're thinking." the old man said, "But changing the passed with this magic is impossible."

"And why is that?"

"Whatever you do in the past, even if you kill someone. It will not... how do I say this? It will not stick."

"Stick?"

"Let me explain." Tom interrupted.

"You see Lyon, time is like an ocean. You can stick your hand in it but once you pull away the water turns back and it's just the same as it was."

"So I'll only be an observer? then how is it possible for me to bring something back?"

"When you bring something back what you are really doing is making a copy of it," Tome knelt down and drew a line in the dirt with his finger. "Let's say this is time. And this," he drew several squiggles on top of the straight line. "Is the life of the King of Fiore. Now you come in when the king is about twenty and bring him here to the present. A new timeline is created for this version of the King." He drew another squiggly line. "But the old timeline is not interrupted and will contineue along its path same as before. History will always remain the same."

"Yes, except it won't work like that in this instance." Anderson interrupted, "With people, two cannot exist at the same time. The king would die as soon as you brought him back." the old man wiped away the second third line with his foot.

"So don't try bringing me back any people." he said, staring directly at Lyon.

"What exactly are you planning on doing with what I'm bringing back?" he asked.

"Things from the past have special properties that you'll probably never be able to understand." he muttered before turning and retreating back into the workshop.  
"Get to work. I want this down by sundown." he snapped at them before closing the door.

Tom looked at him with a bit of unease. "Good luck." he shrugged before following Anderson inside.

Lyon decided he had had enough of their company and stayed outside to work. He also hoped the fresh air could clear out his thoughts so he could think. unfortunately, he was wrong.

He was still feeling the disappointment at realizing he couldn't change the past. If he could have just changed one thing Gray could still be here. He could have warned Fairy Tail not to go to that island. Or he could have warned Ur about Deliora. Heck, if he went back far enough he might have been able to save Gray's town from being destroyed. He smiled at the thought. If he could save Gray from haveing to go trough that grief and all the hatred that followed he could finally make up for what happened on Galuna Island.  
He let out a frustrated huff. There was no point in dwelling on it. He couldn't change the past. Even if he did go back and grab Gray before he left on that dreaded trip he would only bring back a copy of Gray. It wouldn't be the real Gray and he didn't think he would be able to deal with haveing a fake Gray around. He shook his head and finally shoved the matter to the back of his head and concentrated on the blueprints.

When he was finally confident enough that he had them memorized he called Tom and Anderson back out. The sun was already starting to set but Anderson insisted they do it right away.

"Go on then," Anderson instructed, pointing towards the clearing. "Get to it."

Lyon berated himself in his mind for hesitating but he still didn't move.

"What is it, Lyon?" Tom asked.

"I just need a moment to think," Lyon confessed.

"What is there to think about?" the old man asked irritably.

"I just..." Lyon hesitated. He wasn't sure what there was left. He thought he had made up is mind but something still lingered in the back of it. "Why does the second person die?" he directed the question at Anderson. "If you bring someone back when he's still alive. Why does he die?"

"Isn't it obvious." Anderson scoffed.

Lyon shook his head.

"A person has only one soul," he answered with a shrug. "But I told you I don't want you to bring me back a person." He shot a glare at him and motioned for him to hurry up.

"Right. What Would you like?" Lyon asked in a hurried breath.

"Something solid but not too heavy."

"Right," he said again and hurried over to the clearing.

His heartbeat quickened with every step as new thoughts started coming at him like a bombardment.

His soul! of course! that meant that if he brought Gray back his soul would enter the new body. It would still be Gray; the real Gray. Even if he brought him back and he died he would at least know that the original Gray was still alive somewhere.

His mind was now set. Even if he still felt some trepidation he knew that he would regret it if he didn't try. He'd go back to before the Fairy Tail members left for Tenrou Island. No wait, then Gray would have to go through the grief of losing most of his friends. He couldn't bring them all back could he? Probably not.

"Ice mage?"

"Yes?" he looked back at Anderson, not even caring that he didn't use his name again.

"Make sure you go back as far as you can. It'll be easiest if it's sometime you remember but go back as far as you can. It'll make the magic more potent."

Lyon nodded. That could work. He just needed to bring Gray back before he joined Fair Tail. No, before they lost Ur, before Delora, before anything bad happened to him.

His destination now set Lyon turned to face the cleaning and cast the spell. His eyes formed to match the blueprints perfectly. Almost evidently the magic in the earth started to swell and rise up. Lyon steadied himself so the ice wouldn't shatter. The magic came together once again to form into a black pulsating shape. It would grow in size the shrink down the grow again. Each time it would grow larger. Lyon's hands started to shake as he struggled to keep the ice from breaking under such pressure. In his mind, he concentrated on where he wanted to go. Suddenly the black in an instant shrunk to almost nothing then exploded into pure white. Everything around Lyon disappeared into white.  
He blinked several times, is eyes ached like he'd been staring at the sun for too long. Slowly his vision returned and he looked around at a blanket of white snow.


End file.
